Church to Proclaim 2 Saints, 320 Blessed

127 Are Martyrs From the Spanish Civil War

June 03, 2007
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VATICAN CITY, JUNE 3, 2007 (Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI authorized the promulgation of the decrees that clear the way for two canonizations and 320 beatifications.

The Vatican made the announcement Friday after the Pope received in audience Cardinal José Saraiva Martins, prefect of the Congregation for Saints' Causes.

The Holy Father approved the decrees that allow for the canonization of Poor Clare Sister Alphonsa of the Immaculate Conception (1910-1946) of India, and laywoman Narcisa de Jesús Martillo Morán (1833-1869) of Ecuador.

Also recognized were the miracles and martyrdom of 320 candidates for beatification, and the "heroic virtue" of seven candidates who now await the recognition of a miracle for their beatification.

Martyrdom was recognized for 127 religious killed during the Spanish Civil War: Augustinian priest Avellino Rodríguez Alonso and 97 companions of the same order, along with six diocesan clergy, and Emmanuela of the Heart of Jesus and 22 companions of the Institute of Adorers of the Most Holy Sacrament and of Charity.

Jesuit priest Peter Kibe Kasui and 187 companions, killed in Japan in 1600, were also recognized as martyrs.

Martyrdom was attributed as well to Franz Jägerstätter, an Austrian peasant who was guillotined in Berlin in 1943 for having refused any collaboration with the Nazis. He was 36, a husband and a father of three.

A theologian and philosopher of the first half of the 19th century, Father Antonio Rosmini, will be beatified. Father Rosmini was the founder of the Institute of Charity and the Sisters of Providence.